2015 Recap and 2016 Goals and Plans

Let's just begin by wishing all of you a very happy new year and all the best wishes for 2016.

Another year comes to an end. The Goodreads Reading Challenge is completed, school is about to start again, and time finishes another chapter in your book. So, to celebrate a new start, here's a post dedicated to all the things I've done in 2015 (and I'm gonna cheat and add 2014 since I have only started reading really late in 2014) and all the amazing new things you can expect in 2016.

Looking back at 2014 and 2015

A little over one year ago (October 2014) I read my first YA book. A year later, I read Harry Potter for the first time, I had a TBR of almost 200 books and an account on Goodreads and Pinterest, and a blog. Since the world was on fire the past year, I can't say that I haven't felt the heat of the flames. In Europe, the smoke is almost inescapable. Still, readingwise, I've had a good year. I'm content.

My top 10 favorite books/series thus far (because I also include non-2015 reads)

(I'm not counting down. I can't. I JUST can't. So this is kind of in order. The last places are the least of the favorites, but place 9 and 10 can be switched just like 4 and 5 or 1 and 2.)
LOL I just noticed I couldn't get 10 books/series that were real options so... This is a top 7 and now it is in order.

#7 Legend

Okay, some of you might be pissed about this, but I didn't love this book as much as some others I read this year. Maybe I was just suffering dystopian fatigue, I don't know. I just can't rate it any higher than seventh place.

#6 The Grisha Trilogy

This one had to be here. I loved the characters and the world and the magic. It's an awesome read and I can't wait to get to Six of Crows this year (probably soon).

#5 The Winner's Trilogy

Despite my turbulent relationship with the trilogy's name, I loved the first two books in this series and I have to have the last one as soon as possible. Again, probably going to read it this year.

#4 The Lunar Chronicles
I'm currently still reading Winter (Help me how slowly am I reading this!), but that's not because the book doesn't work, that's because I don't work. I love the characters and the humor and I can't wait to finish it, but I have so much stuff to do and mandatory reads for Dutch and German and we'll have to read To Kill a Mockingbird (I was THIS close to pushing the J) for English, so...

#3 The Divergent Series
Still have to read the short stories, but this had to be high on the list. Tris' journey means so much to me and I could very easily relate to her. The movies are not exactly satisfying and I have little fate in them, but that doesn't mean that Veronica Roth didn't do a phenomenal job with these books.

Sharing #1 because I'm really bad at choosing:
The Harry Potter Series
One of the most beloved series in history maybe and definitely one of my all-time favorites (probably forever), Harry Potter has won my heart with great writing, inventive plot lines, and lovely messages.
The Hunger Games Trilogy
I have a serious problem with this series. It might not be the most well-written trilogy out there, it was the one that got me to read YA books. What also makes these books so much fun for me is how well I know them after reading them like, four times. It's also a series that almost everyone of my age knows. Most people if not everyone in my year has either read one of the books or seen one of the movies. No one in my direct environment has read the HP books. I love them and it's kind of fun to have read something different from your friends and family, but I like the unity around the Hunger Games. We (almost) all seem to be able to agree on something, and that's just really nice.

Why this list is pretty short: I've only just started reading a lot. I have not yet been able to read tons of other stories like Throne of Glass or Percy Jackson (again, 2016 TBR).

If you want to know what I have read in 2015, you should go here.

All plans and ideas for 2016

Books I have to read in 2016

• The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
• The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
• The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson
• Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children Trilogy by Ransom Riggs
• Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver and/or The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken and/or Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield
• A whole heap of banned books, because at some point this year (currently planned for September and October) I want to dedicate two months to banned books and their authors. (Think mostly YA, like Eleanor and Park, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and some classics.)
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
• The Crown by Kiera Cass and the Last Star by Rick Yancey
• Graceling and companion novels by Kristin Cashore
• The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
• Hopefully a lot other books (even though I'm pretty sure I'm already nearing 50 books, my Goodreads reading goal for 2016...)

What you can expect on this blog in 2016

As I mentioned earlier, there will be some dedication to banned books, but more about that once the time comes. On this blog, there's hopefully going to be a lot of change this year. My beloved lists will explain further:

• 'Read more' buttons have been inserted so scrolling won't spoiler you if you haven't read the book in question. It also makes it easier for me to see what you guys read and what you don't.
• The font is going to change into something fresher that reads easier.
• I'm going to try and write a bit less... well... Just better than this. Try.
• The whole layout will probably get an update, because this looks terrible and amateuristic. (Not like I AM professional, but that doesn't mean I can't LOOK the part.)
• Odds are the URL of the whole thing will change completely. If you're worried you won't be able to retrace me (which would be extremely flattering), no stress, you will be notified long before I alter the whole thing. I just hope to pick something less angsty that works better with the actual content of the blog.

So that's it. I hope the changes will help and that you will all have a wonderful 2016.